Adobe this week announced a new version of Photoshop, called Photoshop CC, at Adobe MAX, Adobe’s (mostly) annual user conference. At MAX Adobe also announced the end of the Creative Suite (the CS series) and its replacement by the Creative Cloud (CC), their new subscription service. Briefly, Photoshop will no longer be available as a one-time purchase but will now require a monthly subscription. For more details see the Breaking from Tradition box below.
What follows below are resources that introduce the major new features in Photoshop CC with an emphasis on features photographers will appreciate.
Quick Overview of New Features
In this post Adobe Senior Photoshop Product Manager Zorana Gee quickly covers some of the highlights in the soon-to-be-released version of Photoshop.
Julianne Kost’s Top 5 Favorite Features for Photographers in Photoshop
In this video Adobe evangelist Julianne Kost explains her top five favorite features in Photoshop CC. Her post mentions her five favorite features but I have to confess that I lost track of where one feature ended and the next one started. That’s why there’s a list of seven below. However you count them, there’s some pretty cool stuff coming in June 2013.
- Upright perspective correction feature with options for vertical, horizontal and automatic options
- Radial filter in Camera RAW allows you to apply any and all CR adjustments (e.g., exposure, highlights, shadows, clarity, vibrance, etc.) within a feathered (or not) circle/ellipse; and you can have multiple ellipses if you want. You can apply the adjustments to either the inside or outside of the selected area. The new spot healing brush can be any shape and it can either heal or clone. There is a new Visualize Spots feature which helps you quickly identify spots that might not be obvious.
- Camera RAW can be applied not only when opening image but now it is available as a filter which can be applied to any image. You can apply the filter to a Smart Object to make the changes non-destructive and re-editable.
- Upsampling with the new Preserve Details enlargement option creates sharper upsized images than before.
- An improvement to Smart Sharpen greatly reduces the amount of noise.
- Dynamic rounded rectangle corners (vector layers)
- Camera Shake Reduction filter that really works; can be applied as a Smart Filter
Russell Brown’s Top 5 Features in Photoshop CC
In this video Adobe’s eccentric professor of Photoshop covers some of the same ground as Julianne Kost but includes new material, too; five, count ’em, five; here’s Russel Brown’s top 5 features in the new Photoshop:
- Camera RAW Adjustments as a filter; Spot removal using the Visualize Spots feature; Radial Filter in Camera RAW
- Merge to HDR Pro – Toning in Camera RAW; Upright feature to adjust perspective to level the horizon or to align vertical elements perpendicular to the horizon; ability to use Camera RAW to convert from 32-bit mode to 8-bit; quick healing brush tool in ACR can work on a line
- Camera Shake Reduction
- 3D now included with the single version of Photoshop CC (previously, the 3D features were only included with the Extended version of PS); now has a new, faster 3D painting feature
- Adobe Exchange panel; shows paid and free plug-ins; e.g., the free background texture plugin which offers a number of attractive, randomizable textures
Adobe MAX Keynotes and other sessions online
You can also view recordings of the Adobe MAX keynote sessions at the MAX Online site. Here’s a listing of some of the free session recordings that are available at the Adobe MAX Online page (scroll down and expand the Design and Creativity section).
- S8302: Tips and Techniques for Creating Mind-blowing Photo Effects with Corey Barker
- S8223: Photoshop Power Shortcuts
- S8224: Creating and Working Quickly with 3D in Photoshop
- S8225: One-Click Instant Photoshop Techniques
- S8226: Making Movement: Creating and Editing Stunning Videos Easily in Photoshop
- S8227: Expressive Painting in Photoshop
- S8303: Hidden Gems in Adobe Photoshop
- S8304: Deke’s Techniques for Photoshop
- S8307: Visual Storytelling with Photography and Video by Corey Rich
Photoshop CC Tutorials
And here’s a page listing free Photoshop CC tutorials.
The currently available sessions are listed below:
- Using the Camera Shake Reduction Filter with RC Concepcion
- Adobe Camera Raw as a filter with Matt Kloskowski
- An Overview of Camera RAW 8
- Sharpening in Photoshop CC with Pete Collins
- Syncing Presets in Photoshop CC with RC Concepcion
- Image Resizing in Photoshop
- Type Rendering in Photoshop CC
- Design Improvements in Photoshop CC
- An Overview of the 3D Panel
- 3D Painting – The Next Level
Sneak Peeks
Here are some sneak peeks at features Adobe is working on for a possible future version of Photoshop. Just remember, Adobe isn’t promising these sneak features will be in a future version of Photoshop. But features shown in past sneak peaks often have ended up in the shipping product.
Sneak Peek : Perspective Warp in Photoshop
Here’s a sneak peek of a new Perspective Warp feature that may appear in a future version of Photoshop CC. It allows you to correct perspective distortion in architectural images and includes, for example, the ability to correct perspective on one side of a street while leaving the other side of the street unchanged.
Sneak Peek: Playing with Lighting in Photoshop and After Effects
Here’s another sneak: playing with lighting in Photoshop and After Effects.